Review: Injustice for iOS may be what your itching fingers need

If you’re fingers are aching to pummel Superman into nothing more than dirt, the free Injustice game for iOS devices may be exactly what you need.

Fighting games on any touch screen platform usually succumb to faulty gameplay mechanics before the player has a chance to discover any hidden gems. For fans of AAA fighting titles like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, intricate combos and the physicality of buttons is what creates the environment they like to play in.

But where other touch based fighting games have failed, Injustice succeeds. The simplicity of combat makes for an arcade style game that keeps both hardcore fighting fans and mobile gamers entertained.

The iOS version of the upcoming and highly anticipated fighting game from NetherRealm, the same studio behind the Mortal Kombat franchise, is quite obviously a promotional release to hype up the official game set to drop on April 16. The result, however, doesn’t come off as a cash grab and instead it’s a game that can actually stand on its own.

Attacks are dealt to enemies through a series of taps and swipes. The longer your finger remains on the screen, the more forceful your attacks become, and the deadlier the force of it. While possible to eliminate your enemies through screen mashing, the touch screen version of button mashing, the swipes and timed attacks will provide the slight intricacy fighting game fans will surely be sniffing out.

The camera angle is annoying for the first ten minutes of playing, but I came to appreciate the lack of movement available. The screen locks onto the back of your fighters as you’re battling your enemy, providing you with a semi awkward side/front shot of your fight. The lack of movement plays into the beauty of the simplicity this version of Injustice provides.

While many will play this game on an iPad, its graphics were built around the iPhone 5, using those settings to optimize gameplay. The iPhone 5 screen would, simply put, not be able to keep up with a rapid side scrolling camera or a constantly moving one. With the lack of visibility in some of the fights, you can focus more on the attacks you want to unleash.

The graphics NetherRealm have included with the mobile version of the game are nothing less then stellar. As a fan of the DC franchise, it was incredibly important to me that fighters didn’t respond to other fighters out of character, and that their physical forms, which we’ve come to know through the comics, were replicated. They did not disappoint.

All characters are available in game and look phenomenal. For such a small screen, small details were kept and looked pretty decent even while moving to attack. Although there aren’t “finishing” sequences as fans of the Mortal Kombat franchise will be looking for, there are impressive moves embedded into the game which are a constant great surprise to see throughout the game.

Graphically, the game is very impressive, especially for an iOS title.

The only issue I had with Injustice was its in game purchases. Booster packs can be bought through the game to download “rare” characters (which are the more popular DC franchise heroes and villains) to add to their team. If players chose not to purchase the characters, they can still be obtained by levelling up after constant battles.

For a small iOS game to promote a much larger console game, the move felt like being prodded with a sharp stick. It is more than likely that most of the people downloading the free version of the game will be investing in the console version later this month. To be honest, it felt a tad bit disrespectful.

But if you don’t mind fighting to collect your characters and are looking for a fun fighting game you can take on the road, Injustice on iOS might be exactly what you’re looking for.

For more Injustice related content, check out Patrick O’Rourke’s interview with Adam Urbano, Netherrealm Studio’s senior producer of Injustice: Gods Among Us. Also, I put together a preview of Gods Among Us last week.